New Year’s Eve is a time to reflect on the past and consider the future. This year, the future loomed large in Young Adult literature, and the future looked pretty bleak.

These six novels, all published in 2017, revolve around teenagers rocketing into space, escaping an Earth ravaged by climate change. Although the stories were conceived by different authors, they outline the epic, imagined history of humanity’s colonization of the stars.

The first story begins in 2065...

Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson

It's 2065 and Adri is about to depart for a colony on Mars, when she uncovers a connection to Earth that she never knew she had. This title was chosen as one of 2017's Best Books for Teens.




 

Mars One by Jonathan Maberry

The teenage members of earth’s first Mars colonization mission have become reality television stars. But, are they ready for the realities of space travel?





 

Satellite by Nick Lake

Leo was born in space. When he’s forced to make an emergency landing on Earth, he realizes he isn’t physically or mentally prepared to deal with the weight of a dying planet.





 

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen

A mysterious corporation has recruited ten teens for an interstellar colonization mission. Their goal: to harvest Nyxia, an alien mineral that could be Earth’s salvation. This title was chosen as one of 2017's Best Books for Teens.



 

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Far in the future, the dying Earth is at war with five other human-inhabited planets. Noemi, a young soldier from a peaceful, environmentally conscious planet, must travel to Earth to end the war for good.





 

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

The Earth is gone, but humans still live on in the expansive Kalusian Empire. When an assassin attacks the teenage Empress, she must go undercover with a young refugee to find her mysterious attacker.
 

The imagined future of 2017 ends with an imperiled intergalactic empire, but things may change in 2018. This February, a group of 21 teenagers will be suing the federal government, arguing that the country’s support of fossil fuel production is violating their right to a healthy future.

Will this change the imagined future of Young Adult literature? We’ll just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, if you read and loved another YA Sci-fi novel published in 2017, feel free to share in the comments below.